Parker. We must read the book with spiritual understanding, and not in too prosaic a way, with a hard and fast literalness. We must interpret it in accord both with ancient modes of thought and Eastern modes of expression.

In the Paradise of Tintoret the angel who is driving Adam and Eve out of the Garden casts a shadow before him, although he is wrapped in an orb of light. Now we know that light cannot cast a shadow, yet the picture beautifully reveals the artist's thought that the angel, who is light to all else around him, is darkness to these disobedient ones. So the early narratives of Genesis, though not written with prosaic literalness, beautifully reveal divine truths.

As Science. Science has not spoken the last word on any of its many subjects her motto is, "Let knowledge grow from more to more." Theology changes as does science: our beliefs keep pace with our knowledge. Religion— Truth-never changes: her motto is, "Let the knowledge of God fill the earth as the waters cover the sea." Science gives us the facts of life; religion gives us the principles of living; theology interprets the principles according to the interpreter's knowledge and bent of mind. Science deals with creation, its causes and its steps: religion directs us to the Creator, his supremacy and his power.

We have heard much about the conflict of religion and science in the primitive records of Genesis. But Genesis does not come into conflict with science. Science has its own proper domain; it may discover the laws laid down, but it cannot discover the Power that laid them down: religion reveals that Power. At a time when very little was known of the great pre-historic period, when it was believed that the world happened, or was self-originated, when the nations around had no conception of the one true God, the inspired writer of the Hebrews gave an account of creation which all his contemporaries could grasp, and which we today find true and beautiful and good. Composed as it is of the best views, the best histories of that time in regard to the cosmogony, it is, moreover, shot through and through with the Divine truth that the world was brought gradually, by progressive stages, to its present state, in obedience to the will of its Maker. The narrator's purpose was to show God's creative power; his object was not to give manifold details of how the universe came into existence, but to declare that it did come into existence at the command of Jehovah; his concern was not to use scientifically precise language, but dramatically effective language.

Throughout Part I there is a series of word pictures adapted to the people of the age in which it was written, people to whom modern scientific knowledge would have been incomprehensible. And we of today come to Genesis, not to fathom the method by which the world was created, nor yet the origin of evil, but to learn about the Great Cause behind the method, and what is his attitude toward evil.

Lessons for Today. Independent of the outward form is the inner significance. The body is more than the raiment, the idea is more than the fact. The raiment in Genesis is the narrative itself with all its scenery and incidents. What is the body, the idea? It is the spiritual teaching, the imperishable truths which dominate these narratives.

In Part I, the stories of primeval man, the sacred historian teaches several great fundamental truths of religion, the supremacy of God, that he is the Maker and the Ruler of the universe, that he created primitive man and dealt with him according to his deserts. In these annals are chapters from the book of Life, accounts of the nature of temptation and of sin, and of sin's terrible consequences, which are absolutely true to human experiences. In God's dealings with men his love and grace are clearly portrayed.

In Part II the character and ways of God are shown in his relations with Abraham and Isaac and Jacob and Joseph. These stories were written from a religious point of view, and they show how God chose the Hebrews to be his peculiar people, that in them all families of mankind might be blessed; how he therefore disciplined them, and guided them, and how he made covenants and promises that were fulfilled in the later history of their descendants.

Dr. G. Campbell Morgan finds in Genesis the foundation truths of Theology (the science of God: Genesis presents God as Creator, King, and determined

Redeemer), Cosmogony (the science of the origin of the universe: Genesis declares that the whole universe has come into being by the will and act of God), Authropology (the science of man: Genesis teaches that man is a mingling of dust and Deity by the will and act of God, a being placed under authority and having dominion over all things beneath him, a being responsible, therefore, to God), Sociology (the science of society: Genesis reveals the truth that the first circle of Society is the family, and that the true nation is made up of families which recognize their inter-responsibility under the Divine government), Hamartialogy (the science of sin: Genesis affirms that sin in the case of man is failure of faith in the goodness of God, and subsequent rebellion against his government), Ethnology (the science of races: Genesis records the breaking up of the unity of the race), Soteriology (the science of salvation: Genesis makes it perfectly plain that human salvation must come from God and through man. In whispers and symbols and shadows, man is taught that having sinned his only hope is that God will be his Redeemer). Its essential value he finds in its fundamental teaching in all these matters; its final message being: Oh, man, thou art of God. Thou canst only enter into thine own life and realize it as thy confidence is reposed in him, and thy obedience yielded to him. That is the truth which this book utters to all men as a philosophy of life. These principles underlie every story, and constitute the living message of the whole book.

Faith has been defined as a joyous consciousness of the presence of God. Such a faith dominates the book of Genesis.

THE BOOK OF EXODUS

Title. Our Word Exodus is from the Greek Ecodos in Exodus 19.1, and means the Going Out, the Departure. In Hebrew the book is called by the first two words with which it begins, in our translation, These are the names, or simply by "Names."

Contents. Exodus is an account of the birth and training of the Israelitish Nation. Genesis gives the history of individuals: Exodus takes up the story of the Chosen Family and shows how that family became the Chosen Nation, organized under leaders, with a code of laws and a fixed form of worship, “a kingdom of priests and a holy nation."

Genesis has ended with happy prosperity: Exodus begins with dire adversity. It is the story of tragic suffering and purposeful deliverance. After giving a list of those who went down into Egypt with Jacob, a brief statement informs us that "the seventy souls" increased till "they filled the land." Then follows the grievous oppression under a Pharaoh who knew not Joseph. Moses' deliverance from death in infancy, his education at Pharaoh's court, his taking up the cause of his people and his consequent flight into Midian, his discipline in the wilderness and his divine call to be the deliverer of his people, are told with graphic power. Thrillingly is the struggle with Pharaoh recounted in which the latter yields and allows the Hebrews to depart only after his land had been smitten by many plagues. The Passover is instituted, when the firstborn of the Egyptians perish. Under Moses' leadership the Hebrews escape to the Red Sea, where they are overtaken by Pharaoh's host. The Hebrews pass over on dry land, but their pursuers are overthrown in the sea. They continue their journey till they come to Mount Sinai, where the Ten Commandments and other laws and regulations are given, including directions for the construction of the Tabernacle and its furnishings, and there this Tent of Meeting is constructed.

Outline.

I. History.

1. In Bondage in Egypt. Chapters 1-13.

a. The Growth of a Clan into a People, 1.1-7.
b. The Oppression in Egypt, 1.8-22; 2.23-25.

c. The Birth and Adoption of Moses, 2.1-10.

d. His Flight into Midian, 2.11-22.

e. His Commission to deliver Israel, 3.1-4.31.

f. The Struggle between Moses and Pharaoh, 5.1-12, 36.

Pharaoh increases the People's Burdens; The Plagues; The Passover; the First Born of Egypt Slain; Pharaoh consents to the Departure of the Israelites.

2. The Exodus and the Journey to Sinai. 12.37-19.1.

a. The Exodus, 12:37-51.

b. The Consecration of the First-Born, 13.1-16.

c. The Journey to the Red Sea, Pursuit of Pharaoh, the Crossing of the Red Sea, and the Song of Triumph, 13.17-15.21.

d. The Journey to Sinai. 15.22-19.1. The Murmuring at Marah; Encampment at Elim; the Murmuring in the Wilderness of Sin and Quails and Manna sent; the Encampment at Rephidim and the Water from the Rock; War with Amalek; the Coming of Jethro and the Appointment of Assistants for Moses; the Arrival at Sinai.

II. Legislation.

1. At Sinai. Chapters 19-40.

a. The Mount of the Lord, 19.2-25.

b. The Decalogue, 20.1-21.

இல

c. The Book of the Covenant: Religious, Civil and Social Statutes, 20.22-23.33.

d. Moses again on the Mount, Chapter 24.

e. Directions concerning the Construction of the Tabernacle and its Furnishings, and the Consecration of the Priests, 25.1-31.18.

f. Historical Interlude: the Golden Calf and the Punishment of the People, the Two Tables Renewed, the Covenant, 32.1-34-35.

g. Construction and Consecration of the Tabernacle and its Furnishings, Chapters 35-40.

As Literature. These are wonderful stories of life, whose ever-varying incidents have all the charm of modern stories full, like them, of "moving accidents by flood and field." Occasionally an abruptness in the movement is noticeable. The character of Moses, overwhelming in his moral earnestness, is graphically portrayed. The escape from Egypt and the delivery of the Law on Mount Sinai are told with marvelous dramatic power. Nowhere in the Hexateuch is there more vivid writing than in the struggle between Moses, the man of justice, and Pharaoh, the man of might. The laws are sometimes terse, sometimes circumstantially detailed. The descriptions of the tabernacle and its furnishings are minute and monotonous.

Lessons for Today. In our brief summary of the contents of Exodus we have given the record from the human standpoint, as stories historical and biographical. Exodus is, however, a record written from the divine standpoint. The deliverance from bondage is brought about by God, the passage of the Red Sea and the overthrow of the Egyptians are made possible by God, the preservation of the people on the way to Sinai is due to God, the laws and enactments at Sinai came from God-a God who is merciful and gracious, slow to anger, and abundant in lovingkindness and truth, 34.6. By its stories the truths are illustrated that God was ever actively interested in the affairs of the Chosen People, who were chosen, as some one has said, not as a pet but as a pattern, that he is in all history, that nothing happens by chance, that he overrules for good the evil plans of men, and that those who, like Pharaoh, resist his will are overthrown and those who, like the Israelites, obey his will are led on to a noble destiny.

Thou shalt worship and obey is, in brief, the teaching of the legislative portion of the book. The Decalogue is still in force. The Ark in the center of the Tabernacle is a symbol of the truth that God must be enthroned in the heart of man. The laws in regard to food and raiment and worship teach that in all the details of living God's will must be obeyed.

The book is a marvelous revelation of the sublime nature of God, of his limitless power, of his constant interest and guidance in the affairs of men, and of

man's supreme obligation to reverence and obey him. Much of the teaching in the poetical and prophetical books is the repetition and interpretation of the truths enshrined in Exodus.

THE BOOK OF LEVITICUS

Title. In the Greek Version the title of the book is AEVITIKOV, whence our name. The special duties of the Levites, however, are not mentioned, and the name given it in the Talmud, "the Law of the Priests," is more appropriate. Its Hebrew title is taken from the first word, "And called."

Contents. Unlike the other books of the Hexateuch, Leviticus has very little narrative, being wholly a book of laws and rites-civil, moral, religious, ceremonial, sanitary. The brief accounts of the consecration of Aaron and his sons to the priesthood, of the death of Nadab and Abihu for disobeying the regulations, and of the punishment of the blasphemer, are the only narrative portions.

Leviticus is really a continuation of the first half of Part II of Exodus, where are recorded laws concerning worship. In Leviticus are told the priests' duties concerning the sanctuary and its worship, and the people's duties concerning worship and sacrifices. The Jews call the book "The Law of Offerings," because it says so much about sacrificial and other religious offerings.

Outline.

I. Laws concerning Offerings or Sacrifices. Chapters 1-7.

1. For the People, 1.1-6.7.

2. For Priests, 6.8-7.38.

II. Laws concerning the Consecration of the Priests. Chapters 8-10. 1. Consecration of Aaron and his Sons, Chapter 8.

2. Installation of Aaron and his Sons, Chapter 9.

3. Death of Nadab and Abihu, Chapter 10.

III. Laws concerning the Clean and the Unclean.

1. Laws regulating Food, etc., Chapter II.

Chapters 11-16.

2. Laws concerning Purification and Leprosy, Chapters 12-15.

3. The Ritual of the Day of Atonement, Chapter 16.

IV. Laws concerning Holiness. Chapters 17-26.

1. Sacrifice and Eating of Blood, Chapter 17.

2. Impurities, Chapters 18 and 20.

3. Sundry Moral and Social Laws, Chapter 19.

4. General Precepts for the Priests, Chapters 21-22.

5. Sacred Festivals, Chapter 23.

6. The Shewbread and the Punishment of Blasphemy, Chapter 24
7. The Sabbatical Year and the Year of Jubilee, Chapter 25.

8. Exhortation to keep the Law, Chapter 26.

V. Laws concerning Vows and Tithes, Chapter 27.

As Literature. Leviticus has in general the style of all legal books. Noticeable is the fact that laws concerning the same subject are not always put together, that the same laws are sometimes repeated in different parts of the book, that there are various groups of laws distinct with their own headings and conclusions (7.37, 38; 11.46, 47; 13.59; 14.54-57; 15.32, 33; 26.46). The natural inference is that the book as we now have it is "a collection of smaller collections, or a collection added to from time to time," a codification of laws originating with Moses.

Chapters 17-26, concerning the Law of Holiness, differs in style from the rest of the book. Here "the Divine I," as it has been called-I am Jehovah ; I am Jehovah your God; I your God am holy-occurs forty-seven times. In the book of the prophet Ezekiel this "Divine I" is found seventy-eight times. Ezekiel seems to have known and used Leviticus. Compared with the rest of the book, this section is more rhetorical in style and has a higher spiritual tone, containing less ritual and more morality and religion.

Lessons for Today. To the student of Comparative religion, Leviticus is an intensely interesting book, for he sees in its religious rites and social customs

similarities with those of other early nations, while he marvels at the way in which these rites and customs have been purified and transformed, imbued with a new spirit, elevated to moral and spiritual uses.

To the careless reader the minute ceremonial regulations of Leviticus have no practical, present-day value, and it is only a very ancient and very uninteresting book. "Many persons pass by Leviticus as a mere upholstery shop of priestly robes and Jewish ritualities," writes Dr. Theodore L. Cuyler, "but to him who can discern the things of the spirit, the book is full of most rich and rare instructiveness. It typifies the Christian life most wonderfully."

Thou shalt love thy neighbor as thyself, Leviticus 19.18, is the Second Great Commandment given by our Lord. In with the ceremonial laws are laws regarding our neighbor-lessons concerning purity, justice and mercy, kindness to the poor, the weak, the stranger, the aged, the dumb animal, which are needed today. Ruskin's mother compelled him when a youth to read the Bible straight through in course and it was the book of Leviticus, he tells us, which held him in the greatest restraint and most influenced his life.

Ye shall be holy, for I the Lord your God am holy. This is the spirit of the book-a Holy Lord, a holy people, a holy law. "The holiness of God shines like a white, fearful light upon the whole book. It is in contrast with that holiness that the sin of man is seen and understood. Sin is unlikeness to God. Sin is fundamentally, essentially, wrong done to God. The whole scheme of worship places before the mind the idea of redemption as existing in the purpose and economy of God. The writer of the letter to the Hebrews gathered up its message in the words, "Apart from shedding of blood there is no remission." Redemption is in order to holiness. Leviticus speaks forevermore of the awfulness of sin in the light of the holiness of God, of the plenteous redemption springing from the love of God, and of the possibility of holiness of life, created by communion with God."

THE BOOK OF NUMBERS

Title. Because it records the two numberings, or censuses, the one at Sinai and the other in Moab, the book has been called Numbers. "Numbers is the translation of the Greek word 'Api@pol in Numbers 1.2, the title of the Greek Version. In Hebrew it is called "And said" from the first word, or "In the Wilderness" from the fifth word. An apt designation is the title "The Book of Journeys."

Contents. Numbers is a combination of law and narrative. Its legal section, which comes first, is a continuation of Leviticus; the laws are various and sundry. Its narrative section, which begins with 9.15, is a continuation of Exodus. From the encampment at Sinai, where Exodus left the history, Numbers carries it on, and records the main experiences on the way to Kadesh-Barnea.

Between this turning point reached in the second year after the exodus, and the events which occurred on their way to the land of Moab in the fortieth year, Numbers tells little more than that the camp was shifted from time to time. Its history is twice interrupted by minute laws, and it is followed by statistics and legislative enactments.

Outline.

I. The Legal Section. 1.1-9.14.

1. The Census of the Men of War and the Order of the Camp, Chapters I and 2.

2. The Duties of the Priests and Levites, 3.1-39.

3. Redemption of the First-Born, 3.38-51.

4. Duties of the Kohathites, Gershonites, Sons of Merari, and their Numbers, Chapter 4.

5. Sundry Laws concerning the Unclean, Trespass, Jealousy, Impurity, Chapter 5.

6. Law concerning the Nazarites: the Priestly Blessing, Chapter 6.

7. Offerings of the Princes, Chapter 7.

8. The Lamps of the Sanctuary: the Purification of the Levites, Chapter 8. 9. Law concerning the Passover, 9.1-14.